Quality of life in people living with HIV in Aotearoa New Zealand: an exploratory cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Quality of life (QoL) in people living with HIV (PLHIV) is reportedly worse than in people without HIV, with many factors impacting on this. We aimed to investigate QoL in PLHIV in New Zealand (NZ). In-person interviews were conducted including socio-demographic, health, social connectedness, and stigma-related questions. QoL was measured using the 13-question PozQoL Scale – summed to give a score between 13 and 65. Univariate linear regression was used to investigate factors associated with differences in PozQoL scores. PLHIV (n = 188) of different ethnicities from throughout NZ participated. The mean age was 47 years; 65% were men; 61% were men who have sex with men; 61% had been living with HIV for ≥10 years. The mean summary PozQoL score was 47.16. Factors associated with a lower mean PozQol included no sex in the last 12 months (−9.03), inability to meet basic needs (−7.47), ever (−6.49) or recently (−5.03), experiencing stigma or discrimination, mental health condition (−5.74), HIV diagnosis <5 years (−5.48), poor health (−5.43), being unemployed (−5.02), not having support (−4.71), and greater internalised stigma (−2.81). Improving QoL will require investment in peer support and community welfare programmes to better support PLHIV, and stigma reduction campaigns targeting the broader community.

KEYWORDS:

• Quality of life
• HIV
• New Zealand

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the study participants who gave of their time and shared their personal experiences of living with HIV with us. We also thank the interviewers whose dedication and commitment to this study made it possible.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Otago Human Ethics Committee (Health) (H18/135).

Additional information

Funding

The study was funded by the University of Otago, the Ministry of Health, New Zealand AIDS Foundation, Glaxo Smith Kline, Positive Women Inc., Te Whāriki Takapou, Air New Zealand, and Foundation North, Merk Sharp Dhome, MAC AIDS Fund and Lottery Grants via Positive Women Inc.